Hegari
Hegari The Hegari (sometimes poetically referred to as "the angels of the sea") were a species of intelligent amphibious humanoid reptiles that inhabited the Elvish Sea (the body of water that encloses Elavita and borders Avamoria), and went extinct some time in the 2nd century BC. They possessed both gills and lungs, allowing them to breathe underwater and in open air. They could not use active magic, but it is generally agreed their method of regulating internal pressure to avoid being crushed at low depths was done with passive magic. The Hegari populated the coasts of Elavita and Avamoria, usually having the bulk of their settlements beneath the waves but close by the shoreline. They were restricted to these locations because the Hegari could only hatch their eggs on land, however the eggs could only be fertilised in water. With the unification of Elavita in around 400BC, the Elves demanded that the Hegari submit to their rule, but they refused, so they were denied entry to the entire archipelago and expelled from it. The Hegari then migrated to Avamoria, where their presence was not welcome as they ate up all the fish stocks and were a general disruption to maritime activities. The Avamorians grew tired of the Hegari and expelled them in around 220BC, and the Hegari soon found themselves with nowhere to lay their eggs. The Western Desert was too hot for their eggs, the Drazaki jungle was too hostile, and both Avamoria and Elavita were off-limits to them, with any Hegari coming ashore being immediately killed and their eggs destroyed. Soon enough, with no way of reproducing, the numbers of Hegari fizzled out and the species became extinct. The last Hegar sighting occured in 140BC, although the species likely persisted longer than this. The Hegari were humanoid, possessing two legs and two arms. Their limbs had extendable fins which would retract once they were on land, and their toes were webbed (although their fingers were not). They had lustrous scales which ranged in colour from green to blue, and large black eyes. They also had four tentacles on their back which were largely useless on land but had large fins (retracted whilst on land) which aided their movement underwater. These had an appearance similar to wings when used to swim underwater, which explains their nickname of "the angels of the sea". The Hegari were exclusively carnivorous, eating all manner of marine creatures, which was the primary driving force of the conflict between the Hegari and the land-dwellers, as the Hegari depleted the seas of the fish that the land-dwellers wanted. The Hegari sometimes also ate land creatures, but this was rare. There are some accounts of Hegari killing and eating other intelligent creatures, but this was considered an evil thing to do by most Hegari. The Hegari probably had intelligence about equivalent to Humans. Elvish records show that they were skilled at using tools and constructing settlements, and they had a developed complex language and writing system. Some ruins of their settlements still survive, which show intricate stonework and clearly demonstrate that the Hegari had a taste for art. Elvish records also show that the Hegari did have quite sophisticated weapons, possibly more advanced than what most Human societies had at the time, but they were outmatched by Elvish magic. It was not possible for Hegari to breed with other races of intelligent creatures, although there are two accounts of romantic non-sexual relationships between a Hegar and another species. Hegari were not conventionally attractive by hominid standards (possessing almost none of the secondary sex characteristics of hominids and having little sexual dimorphism) and did not appear to gain pleasure from sexual activity.